Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub pledged at a midnight news conference to “bring each and every one of these lost boys home to their families.” Cadaver dogs had led them to the spot on the 90-acre farm where the FBI has spent days digging up the grave and sifting through the dirt for evidence. The other remains still need to be identified. The cause of deaths of those found in the grave has not yet been announced.
“I don’t understand the science behind it, but those dogs could smell these poor boys 12-1/2 feet below the ground,” Weintraub said.
Cosmo DiNardo was being held on $5 million cash bail after he was charged Wednesday with trying to sell another victim’s car after he disappeared. The car was found on the DiNardo family property.
The body identified early Thursday was that of 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro. The missing men are 22-year-old Mark Sturgis, 21-year-old Tom Meo and 19-year-old Jimi Tar Patrick. Patrick, who was a year behind DiNardo at a Catholic high school for boys, was last seen on Wednesday, while the other three vanished two days later.
DiNardo also had been arrested Monday and held on $1 million bail on an old gun charge, before his father paid $100,000 to bail him out Tuesday. The charge stems from accusations that DiNardo was caught with a shotgun and ammunition in February despite a prior mental health commitment.
The back-to-back arrests bought investigators time as they scoured the farm and other spots across the county for clues to the men’s disappearance, Weintraub said. He hoped the higher bail would hold him even longer, but acknowledged it might not.